LEDs OUT, T5s in!!!

bobo33 · 04/08/2013, 08:28 PM

After two months of LED lighting in my LPS & Softie tank, I put my old T5s back on. I did not like my LED set up, I dont want to say the brand name but they were reef ready and had a built in timer. Way too much white and not enough blue. Im pretty sure my T5s are not as intense but my corals look so much better back nder the T5s. Under the LEDs some of my corals bleeched out and did not grow much. I also lost a couple nice yuma that just melted away under the LEDs. Im positive that some of the LED systems that are dimmable are much better and you will have a good experience with them. I am not ani-LED, Im just not a fan of the unit I have. Thankfully I spoke with my LFS and he agreed to take the unit back at full price as long as there is no damage. Im not exited about spending the $80.00 to replace all four T5s every four months but, it is what it is. Try it a t home if you have been running LEDs for a couple months and still have your T5s layin around. You will like what you see.

rodneyri · 04/08/2013, 08:31 PM

Why are you replacing the t5 globes every 4 months?

wildman926 · 04/08/2013, 08:34 PM

I like the color, clarity, and brightness LED's provide, and I like the full spectrum that the T5's provide. That is why I run both.

raynist · 04/08/2013, 08:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rodneyri

Why are you replacing the t5 globes every 4 months?

+1, you are wasting money.

I replace mine every 18 months.

Overgrown · 04/08/2013, 08:47 PM

Can always tell when I buy frags from an LED only tank.Just something missing. I also switched back from led to T5 awhile ago and couldn't be happier. Next tank will be MH/ T5 because I miss the halide shimmer

hibb304 · 04/08/2013, 09:02 PM

Love my T-5's.

fishyguy7 · 04/08/2013, 10:42 PM

just switched back to MH from LEDs and Im much happier.

Ron Reefman · 04/09/2013, 05:02 AM

Full spectrum leds and do your own custom layout so you get whatever color you want.
Enough leds to have more PAR than 250w MH (I went from 4 250W MH to 2 led fixtures with 99 3W bulbs driven at 2.4W each...480W max vs 500W with MH plus t5 ).
As blue or white as you want it with the push of a button.
Lower running cost (electricity down 50% and bulb replacement down 99%).
Roughly the same cost for the led fixtures you need as you would pay for new t5 or MH (so no Radion, AI, Maxspect... and it's not DIY either)
After 4 months I can document great sps coral growth.
And unlike the expensive led fixtures, if you don't like these, you can sell them for almost what you paid for them.

But you guys don't really want to know... do you?

Michigan Mike · 04/09/2013, 05:59 AM

1 year for cooled T5, 6-9 mo this for uncooled.

power boat jim · 04/09/2013, 06:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Overgrown

Can always tell when I buy frags from an LED only tank.Just something missing. I also switched back from led to T5 awhile ago and couldn't be happier. Next tank will be MH/ T5 because I miss the halide shimmer

How do you know its the lights causing the issue. Most stores dont always have the best water conditions or possibly frags have not adjusted to the conditions in the stores system. Ive seen plenty of bad color in frags on every type lighting system there is in a LFS.

It takes a good six months for coral to adjust to LEDs. I realize thats a longer time then most are willing to give. They also may take alot more tweeking then some are willing to do but it is certainly possible to obtain excellent results with them.

reef4life07 · 04/09/2013, 07:20 AM

+1 Power Jim, I've seen the same at my nearby lfs's, including myself. I've been through 2 mh fixtures, and bought a ati t5 fixture going on 3 months now. Reason why I've been swapping out my fixtures was, because of my corals bleaching. I thought maybe the light was to close to the surface so I raised it, but no change on either of the mh's. with my t5 I still don't see a difference. So I was on a water testing frenzy for months, everything was up to par, Mag was close to 1500 at one point but now it's at 1400-1440. I put 2 and 2 together, and aiming at the reason why my corals are light in color is maybe because my nitrates, and phos is at 0...so I've reduced the amount of phosban to half of what I normally put. I haven't notice anything yet, because I just came up with this conclusion last week. Most likely that's the issue

bobo33 · 04/09/2013, 08:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rodneyri

Why are you replacing the t5 globes every 4 months?

Because my hood is not High Output. I like to keep them fresh.

ganjero · 04/09/2013, 09:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobo33

Because my hood is not High Output. I like to keep them fresh.

Can you elaborate? High Output meaning you don't run 24" at 24w, 36" at 39w, 48" at 54w, or 60" at 80w (whichever your are using)?

Michigan Mike · 04/09/2013, 09:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobo33

Because my hood is not High Output. I like to keep them fresh.

What led did you have, marineland? What's the big deal?

What exactly are you using? Coralife T5 NO (24" is 14w I think, so on etc.)
Or are you not overdriving them? Like with icecap/coralvue ballasts.

What bulbs do you buy? What fixture & ballasts? ......no reason to change bulbs that quick.

bobo33 · 04/09/2013, 07:17 PM

Im not good with electrical so Im going by what pros have told me. My hood does not have a ballast, its very cheap, so my LFS said to keep the bulbs fresh and swap em out every 6 to 8 months because he said my hood will not push them the full 24 watts that it should. I choose to swap them every 4 to 6 months because Im getting good results as far as color and growth (no SPS, just LPS and softies). And I am running 2 x 12,000k Wave Point Super Daylights and 2 X Wave Point Super Blue actinics. Im not sure what brand my hood is, bought it on ebay years ago. I never meant to keep this system so long, it was supposed to be only temporary, but Ive had some serious health issues the past few years and never have the time, money, or energy to do what I really want as far as a reef system.

Treg · 04/09/2013, 08:21 PM

Not High Output (overdriving?) they should last even Longer.

I get at least a year out of mine - more like 18 months.

imchris · 04/10/2013, 03:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobo33

Im not good with electrical so Im going by what pros have told me. My hood does not have a ballast, its very cheap, so my LFS said to keep the bulbs fresh and swap em out every 6 to 8 months because he said my hood will not push them the full 24 watts that it should. I choose to swap them every 4 to 6 months because Im getting good results as far as color and growth (no SPS, just LPS and softies). And I am running 2 x 12,000k Wave Point Super Daylights and 2 X Wave Point Super Blue actinics. Im not sure what brand my hood is, bought it on ebay years ago. I never meant to keep this system so long, it was supposed to be only temporary, but Ive had some serious health issues the past few years and never have the time, money, or energy to do what I really want as far as a reef system.

Always consider the source of your advice and if they have something to gain. The guy that sells bulbs recommends that you replace them sooner than needed?? I'm not saying that's the case but you can see where I wouldn't trust that advice. Maybe you can borrow a par meter from someone and see what your bulbs throw when they're new and see how much they drop at 6,9,18 months.

Michigan Mike · 04/10/2013, 05:22 PM

Can you post pics? This would help alot more.what do the bulbs say on them?
It sounds like you are running t-8 bulbs that are on most freshwater tank combos.

Unless you tell in detail what's going on we can only help so much, I don't want to say ditch your t5 (?) lights for a good brand of T5HO like ATI, TEK, AQUATICLIFE without seeing what you have now if you can't tell us.

Know what I mean?

What bulbs, what do they say on them? Post pics. What led did you have?

bobo33 · 04/10/2013, 07:29 PM

Wow, all this over my choice to ditch the LEDs. My T5 fixture is junk... theres no doubt about it, but it works. I bought the LED fixture, which is a Marineland reef ready fixture by the way, with little research done. Right off the bat, I didnt like it but I decided to stick it out for a couple months and give it a try. The marineland fixture is way too bright, and way too white. In the first week i burnt up too nice yumas (my two favorite corals) and every acan coral I had lost a lot of color. My neon green acans tuned brown and my orange lords lost the bright orange. I put a before and after pic of my purple and pink acans as an example. First pick is under my T5s, the second is after a week of the LEDs. Everything turned brown. Oh, and with the lack of blue hue in the tank, my fish didnt look as good either. Thats all, just wanted to know if anyone else decided to go back to either T5s or MHs after trying LEDs. Thanks all!!! Oh, the bulbs I use in my hood are two WAVE POINT 24w Super Blue actinics 420, and two WAVE POINT 24w sun wave 12,000k. Here is the link http://www.wave-point.com/Home.html, so you can check them out.

ganjero · 04/10/2013, 08:04 PM

If you say the T5 is junk, let me tell you the Marineland fixture would be consider worse than junk....

nysbadmk8 · 04/10/2013, 08:11 PM

Wow.. thats possibly the worse LED fixture you could have bought

GrampaDon · 04/10/2013, 08:17 PM

bobo33
That fixture you linked may not be top notch. But it does use 4 HO t5s
[You could save money by not changing them till 9-12 mo.]
And that should be very sufficient for a soft/lps tank.

As far as ditching LEDs ,well that getting to be a trend lately.

Best luck with your new lights.

04/08/2013, 08:28 PM	#1
bobo33 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2012 Posts: 106	LEDs OUT, T5s in!!! After two months of LED lighting in my LPS & Softie tank, I put my old T5s back on. I did not like my LED set up, I dont want to say the brand name but they were reef ready and had a built in timer. Way too much white and not enough blue. Im pretty sure my T5s are not as intense but my corals look so much better back nder the T5s. Under the LEDs some of my corals bleeched out and did not grow much. I also lost a couple nice yuma that just melted away under the LEDs. Im positive that some of the LED systems that are dimmable are much better and you will have a good experience with them. I am not ani-LED, Im just not a fan of the unit I have. Thankfully I spoke with my LFS and he agreed to take the unit back at full price as long as there is no damage. Im not exited about spending the $80.00 to replace all four T5s every four months but, it is what it is. Try it a t home if you have been running LEDs for a couple months and still have your T5s layin around. You will like what you see.

04/08/2013, 08:31 PM	#2
rodneyri Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 822	Why are you replacing the t5 globes every 4 months? __________________ Too poor starphire - 7ft Reef - Profilux 3 - GHL Doser 2 - Bubble King - RD3 Speedy - Vortech QD40 - Radion G4 Pro -P̵a̵c̵ ̵S̵u̵n̵ ̵

04/08/2013, 08:34 PM	#3
wildman926 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: CTX Posts: 2,904	I like the color, clarity, and brightness LED's provide, and I like the full spectrum that the T5's provide. That is why I run both. __________________ Beware of recommendations by those who don't actually use their recommendation!! The search function actually works quite well!! Tanks:Planet Aquarium 150g LPS, Planet Aquarium 90g Softie

04/09/2013, 05:02 AM	#8
Ron Reefman Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Cape Coral, FL Posts: 10,431	Full spectrum leds and do your own custom layout so you get whatever color you want. Enough leds to have more PAR than 250w MH (I went from 4 250W MH to 2 led fixtures with 99 3W bulbs driven at 2.4W each...480W max vs 500W with MH plus t5 ). As blue or white as you want it with the push of a button. Lower running cost (electricity down 50% and bulb replacement down 99%). Roughly the same cost for the led fixtures you need as you would pay for new t5 or MH (so no Radion, AI, Maxspect... and it's not DIY either) After 4 months I can document great sps coral growth. And unlike the expensive led fixtures, if you don't like these, you can sell them for almost what you paid for them. But you guys don't really want to know... do you? __________________ The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it. (Neil deGrasse Tyson) Visit my build thread http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2593017 Last edited by Ron Reefman; 04/09/2013 at 05:07 AM.

04/10/2013, 08:17 PM	#22
GrampaDon Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Fort Wayne ,IN Posts: 636	bobo33 That fixture you linked may not be top notch. But it does use 4 HO t5s [You could save money by not changing them till 9-12 mo.] And that should be very sufficient for a soft/lps tank. As far as ditching LEDs ,well that getting to be a trend lately. Best luck with your new lights. __________________ 165+29 Sticks N Zoas / Kessil + t5 / Ecotech 260 in the works. 84X30X25

04/08/2013, 08:47 PM	#5
Overgrown Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Posts: 250	Can always tell when I buy frags from an LED only tank.Just something missing. I also switched back from led to T5 awhile ago and couldn't be happier. Next tank will be MH/ T5 because I miss the halide shimmer

04/08/2013, 09:02 PM	#6
hibb304 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Charleston W.V. Posts: 92	Love my T-5's.

04/08/2013, 10:42 PM	#7
fishyguy7 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Fort Collins,CO Posts: 426	just switched back to MH from LEDs and Im much happier.

04/09/2013, 05:59 AM	#9
Michigan Mike Freedom costs a buckofive Join Date: May 2012 Location: Michigan Posts: 3,002	1 year for cooled T5, 6-9 mo this for uncooled.

04/09/2013, 07:20 AM	#11
reef4life07 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: New Jersey Posts: 480	+1 Power Jim, I've seen the same at my nearby lfs's, including myself. I've been through 2 mh fixtures, and bought a ati t5 fixture going on 3 months now. Reason why I've been swapping out my fixtures was, because of my corals bleaching. I thought maybe the light was to close to the surface so I raised it, but no change on either of the mh's. with my t5 I still don't see a difference. So I was on a water testing frenzy for months, everything was up to par, Mag was close to 1500 at one point but now it's at 1400-1440. I put 2 and 2 together, and aiming at the reason why my corals are light in color is maybe because my nitrates, and phos is at 0...so I've reduced the amount of phosban to half of what I normally put. I haven't notice anything yet, because I just came up with this conclusion last week. Most likely that's the issue

04/09/2013, 07:17 PM	#15
bobo33 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2012 Posts: 106	Im not good with electrical so Im going by what pros have told me. My hood does not have a ballast, its very cheap, so my LFS said to keep the bulbs fresh and swap em out every 6 to 8 months because he said my hood will not push them the full 24 watts that it should. I choose to swap them every 4 to 6 months because Im getting good results as far as color and growth (no SPS, just LPS and softies). And I am running 2 x 12,000k Wave Point Super Daylights and 2 X Wave Point Super Blue actinics. Im not sure what brand my hood is, bought it on ebay years ago. I never meant to keep this system so long, it was supposed to be only temporary, but Ive had some serious health issues the past few years and never have the time, money, or energy to do what I really want as far as a reef system.

04/09/2013, 08:21 PM	#16
Treg Premium Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Ohio Posts: 2,739	Not High Output (overdriving?) they should last even Longer. I get at least a year out of mine - more like 18 months.

04/10/2013, 05:22 PM	#18
Michigan Mike Freedom costs a buckofive Join Date: May 2012 Location: Michigan Posts: 3,002	Can you post pics? This would help alot more.what do the bulbs say on them? It sounds like you are running t-8 bulbs that are on most freshwater tank combos. Unless you tell in detail what's going on we can only help so much, I don't want to say ditch your t5 (?) lights for a good brand of T5HO like ATI, TEK, AQUATICLIFE without seeing what you have now if you can't tell us. Know what I mean? What bulbs, what do they say on them? Post pics. What led did you have?

04/10/2013, 08:04 PM	#20
ganjero saiperchémibatteilcorazon Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 4,027	If you say the T5 is junk, let me tell you the Marineland fixture would be consider worse than junk....

04/10/2013, 08:11 PM	#21
nysbadmk8 Premium Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Lehighton Pa Posts: 1,245	Wow.. thats possibly the worse LED fixture you could have bought